In East Bridgewater, a session on the sins of sexting, cyberbullying

By Amanda Irwin The Enterprise

Wednesday

Jun 13, 2018 at 5:42 PMJun 14, 2018 at 3:53 PM

EAST BRIDGEWATER — Cyberbullying, sexting, online predators and excessive screen time are just a few of the topics discussed at an East Bridgewater Junior/Senior High School assembly for students grades 6 through 11 Wednesday morning.

“Recently there was a study of over a million students — eighth grade, 10th grade and 12th grade. And what they found is that over the years since 2011-2012, mental well-being has been on a steady decline. At the same time this was declining, cellphone use has been increasing,” said speaker Robert Hackenson Jr. of Dynamic Influence.

Through Dynamic Influence, Hackenson travels across the United States to give presentations on internet safety and social media.

“We need to be able to start disconnecting. Right now they say youth between the ages of 8 to 18 spend about seven and a half hours per day on screen time. That’s more than any other recreational activity,” Hackenson said.

With a show of hands, the majority of students at the assembly indicated they spent at least two hours a day on their phones. In a year, that equates to a month of screen time annually.

That particular assembly was composed of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.

“The reality is that what people post up online isn’t necessarily the truth. It’s not the whole picture. People post what they want you to see, not necessarily what’s real,” he said. “The problem is what you see up online, even though it’s an illusion, it can still cause a real reaction — a real emotion.”

With cyberbullying being an issue among adolescents resulting in depression and sometimes suicide, Hackenson spent a lot of the presentation discussing not only the effects of things posted online, but also the positive impact bystanders can have in such situations.

Hackenson referenced Martin Niemoller’s “First they came for …”

“We’re going to target these people and count on everybody else not saying anything. That’s how it went,” he said. “When the good see something happen and they remain silent, that’s when evil wins. Again, I’m not asking you to change the world, but I am asking you to set the tone here.

“We also have to understand that what we post up online, we don’t know how it’s going to affect others. We don’t know what they’re dealing with at home,” Hackenson said. “What you might see as not that big of a deal to them might be everything. Like Meghan.”

Three weeks shy of her 14th birthday, Megan Meier committed suicide in 2006 after being cyberbullied on MySpace.

“She ended up taking her own life — a permanent solution for a temporary problem,” he said. “If you ever hear anybody talk about this, tell somebody immediately. It’s no joke.”

Hackenson also addressed sexting and the permanence of the online culture, even when using private chats or deleted posts or photos.

“If you have a picture of a nude minor on your phone, that would be considered possession of child pornography. If you send it to someone, that is considered distribution of child pornography. There have been high school and middle school students that have been brought up on charges of possession, distribution and sometimes selling child pornography,” he said.

“If you forget about everything else I’ve talked about so far, just remember this: the internet Miranda rights. What it all boils down to — anything you post up online, whether it’s gonna be deleted or private, anything you post online can and will be used against you in the court of life. That’s the truth.”

Principal Brian Duffey concluded the presentation asking students to reach out to a trusted adult if a situation arises that they feel uncomfortable with, whether online or otherwise.

Hackenson will give another presentation for parents tonight.

“The biggest thing you can do as a parent is constant communication, setting some limits, having a separate charging location and leading by example. Because I think there’s a lot of parents out there, too — and I was definitely one — you grab your device because it’s there,” Hackenson said.

For more information about Hackenson or Dynamic Influence, visit www.dynamicinfluence.com.

Staff reporter Amanda Irwin can be reached at airwin@enteprisenews.com

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